PARIS: Eintracht Frankfurt reached their first European final for 42 years after a 1-0 home win on Thursday over 10-man West Ham sealed a 3-1 aggregate victory in their Europa League semi-final.

The Germans, who last featured in a European final in 1980, will face Rangers on May 18 in Seville after a 3-1 win over RB Leipzig on Thursday took the Scottish champions through 3-2 on aggregate.

In the inaugural Europa Conference League, Tammy Abraham’s first-half header earned Serie A side AS Roma a place in the final in Albanian capital Tirana on May 25 where they meet Dutch club Feyenoord following two tight semi-finals.

Jose Mourinho’s Roma edged Leicester City 1-0 to win their tie 2-1 on aggregate, while Feyenoord held home side Olympique Marseille to a scrappy 0-0 draw on the French south coast and advanced 3-2.

Eintracht, who lost to Chelsea on penalties in the 2019 Europa League semi-finals, are into their first European final since winning the UEFA Cup , the predecessor to the Europa League, in 1979/80.

They are also now just one win away from qualifying for the Champions League for the first time since losing the 1960 European Cup final to Real Madrid.

“A dream has finally come true,” Eintracht president Peter Fischer said, surrounded by ecstatic fans who stormed the pitch on the final whistle. “The team did it really well. This city and this environment deserved it. That’s football and now we will win this thing,” Fischer said.

In front of a deafening 48,000 crowd, Rafael Borre drilled in the winner for the hosts in the 26th minute, beating the English club for a second time following a 2-1 triumph in the first leg last week.

West Ham, who played most of the game with 10 men after left back Aaron Cresswell was dismissed for a professional foul on Jens Petter Hauge in the 17th minute, were toothless throughout.

Their manager David Moyes was also sent off in the 79th minute for angrily kicking a ball in a frustrating and scrappy end to West Ham’s European run this season.

“Really disappointed. Things didn’t go for us on the night,” Moyes told BT Sport. “Small things didn’t happen but I am really proud of the players. How they played with 10 men was fantastic. They stayed in it.”

Rangers lost to Zenit St Petersburg in the UEFA Cup final of 2008, but have had to start again from the fourth tier of Scottish football following a financial collapse in 2012.

Last season they ended Celtic’s run of nine league titles in a row and will return to the Champions League for the first time since 2010 with victory over Eintracht at the Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan in 13 days’ time.

At a rocking Ibrox, John Lundstram struck the winner 10 minutes from time for Giovanni van Bronckhorst’s Rangers, bidding to win a second European trophy 50 years after the 1972 Winners’ Cup.

“I’m very proud of the achievement so far,” said Van Bronckhorst. “Once you are in the final, we have to do everything to win it as well.”

Leipzig’s 1-0 advantage from the first leg was blown away early on. Captain James Tavernier opened the scoring in the 18th minute, becoming the Europa League’s top scorer this season with his seventh goal, before midfielder Glen Kamara’s long-range effort six minutes later extended the lead.

Leipzig hit back when forward Christopher Nkunku received a perfect cross from Angelino to score in the 70th minute but Rangers claimed the vital goal when a defensive mix-up after a corner allowed Lundstram to sweep the ball home.

The winners of the third-tier Europa Conference League will automatically qualify for the 2022/23 Europa League group stage, unless they reach the Champions League pool stages next season.

There was little to choose between Roma and Leicester at a bouncing Stadio Olimpico in Rome, where the decisive goal came on 11 minutes as Leicester’s frailties at set-pieces this season were exposed again.

Lorenzo Pellegrini’s corner was met by the head of England international Abraham, who guided the ball into the net.

It took Leicester 78 minutes to have a first shot on target as they battled to create clear-cut chances against the well organised home side, who reach their first European final since losing to compatriots Inter Milan in the 1991 UEFA Cup.

The final will give Mourinho a chance to add another trophy to his collection as well as win his first European trophy since claiming the 2017 Europa League with Manchester United. He has also won the Champions League twice.

“I shed a tear because my emotions were with everyone who loves this club,” said an exhausted Mourinho. “This is a giant club without the trophy room in relation to the social dimension of the club. This is not a trophy it’s a final but it means a lot to them.”

The second leg of the semi-final between Marseille and Feyenoord was marred by fan violence in the build-up as supporters from both sides clashed with each other and police, while a brick was thrown at the visitors team bus.

The first leg had been a five-goal thriller, but this was more of a cagey affair with the best chance of the first half falling to Marseille’s Dimitri Payet, who sliced a shot wide when he should have scored.

Marseille pressed for the goal they needed to equalise on aggregate, but Feyenoord held on to reach their first European final since they lifted the UEFA Cup for the second time in 2002.

“I am not thinking about Mourinho or Roma yet but it will be a great final,” admitted Feyenoord coach Arne Slot.

Published in Dawn, May 7th, 2022